The following is an excerpt of an editorial that appeared in The (Findlay) Courier:
Once again, last-minute maneuvering by two political parties will result in a “primary-free” gubernatorial election for Ohioans.
That’s too bad. In a state nearly split between conservatives and liberals, voters should have a say when picking a party’s candidate for such an important statewide race. More often, it’s state party leaders, not voters, who decide which candidate progresses to the fall election.
Contested primaries had once looked like a possibility in this year’s governor race for both Republicans and Democrats.
But the GOP primary ticket was cleared for Gov. John Kasich, who will be seeking a second term, when Ted Stevenot, a tea party favorite, dropped out less than a week after he had thrown his hat into the ring....
Democrats, too, had been staring at a primary matchup, until last a few days before the filing deadline.
That’s when Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune withdrew his bid to go head-to-head against Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald.
Both Portune and Stevenot have since suggested they would have liked to have taken their campaigns a step farther, but were not encouraged to by officials in their respective parties.
That’s not surprising. The clearing of the gubernatorial ticket before a primary is a long-established political strategy.
Party leaders like to avoid first-round fights which can divide the base. Granted, Portune or Stevenot may not have had a realistic chance of winning their respective party’s nomination in May, but they may have broadened the discussion....
Unfortunately, voters will only get to weigh in once, not twice.
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— The Associated Press